Today on the blog we're featuring a guest post kindly provided by James Hall. James is a cracking UK writer who is a home appliance enthusiast - take it away James!
Ever since I first watched Star Trek as a child, I’ve always
been interested in space-age technology. Ideas such as faster-than-light travel
or realistic virtual realities still fascinate me – even though I understand
little of the science behind them!
In comparison to sci-fi technology, it’s sometimes easy to
forget how astonishing “everyday” items actually are. Society has developed so
rapidly over the last 100-150 years that we quickly become indifferent to technological
breakthroughs – even when they come as a direct result of space research.
With that in mind, here are five everyday items that were
first developed by NASA.
1. Scratch-Proof Glasses
As you can imagine, it’s important for an astronaut’s visor
not to get scratched. That’s why NASA scientists in the 1970s put a lot of time
into developing strong plastics coated with a thin film to prevent scratching.
The result was visors that were up to ten times less likely to scratch than
previous versions.
Fast forward a decade, and sunglass manufacturer
Foster-Grant realised the same technology could be used on their products. The
company was the first to licence it from NASA, although today most plastic
lenses have a similar coating.
2. Memory Foam
Mattresses
Walk into any mattress shop and you’ll almost certainly be
greeted be a sales person extolling the virtues of
memory foam. This type of foam, which contours to your body to provide
extra support while sleeping, has become popular in recent years.
What many people don’t know is that memory foam was first
developed by NASA as a way to protect passengers during a crash. It’s still
used for that today, but is also found in pillows, mattresses and even roller
coasters due to its ability to absorb energy.
3. Water Filters
One of the challenges of long-term space missions, such as
establishing a base on the Moon, is producing clean water. That’s why NASA has
been collaborating with a number of companies to develop water filtration
systems. The first filters were designed in the 1970s and could handle basic
cleaning. In recent years, new filters are being created to convert water with
greater contamination – including human urine – into a drinkable form.
While this technology might not be found in the average
western home, it has the potential to make a big difference in poorer countries
where clean water is scarce.
4. Handheld Cordless
Vacuums
An example of a more mundane NASA technology is the humble
handheld vacuum. Before the Apollo mission, NASA commissioned Black &
Decker to produce a drill to collect samples from the moon. This needed a
highly optimised motor and tiny power consumption, as energy would be at a
premium during the mission.
Later on, the same technology would be used to create the
Dustbuster range of vacuums. Black & Decker still produce Dustbusters today,
although handheld vacuums are now built by a wide
range of companies.
5. Cochlear Implants
In the 1970s, analog hearing aids simply magnified sound.
This meant any noise or imperfections would also be amplified.
At the time, NASA was putting a lot of research time into
sound and electronic sensing. An engineer named Adam Kissiah, who also had
hearing difficulties, realised this technology could be used to produce an
implant that would transmit sound digitally.
James Hall is a home technology writer from the UK. Aside from writing, he enjoys hiking, cycling and spending time with his family. He's always had an interest in space-age technology and has high hopes for the next-generation of virtual reality devices. He's currently writing for Spotless Vacuum and you can also find him on Twitter.
